Spring in your step: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and not just any Wednesday but the last Wednesday of Winter 2025.
Yes, Spring officially begins tomorrow (at precisely 5:01 a.m. here in our beautiful Eastern Time Zone, for those keeping score). That should give you some extra umph as we clear our midweek hurdle – and if not, well, this snappy innovation review certainly will.
Sweet (and sweeter): Two great tastes go great together on National Chocolate Caramel Day.
Something for everyone: Today is March 19, and we’re wrapping up Winter with a smorgasbord of obscure observances – International Clients Day (thanking the customers who keep every business in business), National Backyard Day (celebrating literal back yards and hometown gathering spots), Let’s Laugh Day (promoting the mental and physical benefits of yucking it up) and Certified Nurses Day (which really should be every day) all claim the date.
Hungry? Good. It’s also National Poultry Day (which is really about how much Americans love to eat chicken, though it takes on extra meaning with various avian flu strains ruffling feathers) and National Chocolate Caramel Day (decidedly flu-resistant every March 19).
The thief: Edward Smith could buy plenty of chicken dinners after committing America’s first bank robbery on this date in 1831, using a set of duplicate keys to snatch a cool $245,000 – more than $7 million in modern dollars – from a New York City depository. (His crime spree, alas, was short-lived.)
The suffragists: More interested in changing laws than breaking them were the millions of women who staged mass demonstrations across Europe on March 19, 1911, demanding the right to vote, health insurance, maternity leave and other benefits – an influential event now recognized as the first International Women’s Day.
The gambler: Definitely changing laws – and his state’s destiny – was Nevada Gov. Fred Balzar, who signed a State Assembly bill legalizing gambling in the Silver State 94 years ago today. (Legalized divorces soon followed).
Harbor patrol: Like the nearby Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbor Bridge is one of the impressive sights defining Australia’s most-populated city.
The span: Also bridging the past and present is the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge, which opened to the public on March 19, 1932, marking the culmination of a decade of construction – and more than a century of speculation and planning.
The Un-Bezos: And it was one year ago today when novelist MacKenzie Scott – ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – announced that her philanthropical organization Yield Giving was awarding $640 million to 361 nonprofit causes.
The dazzling display of generosity came two years after Yield Giving launched an “open call” inviting charities across the United States and U.S. territories to apply for funding. (For the record, Scott’s 2019 divorce from Bezos made the 2006 American Book Award winner the world’s third-wealthiest woman – and since the split, she’s donated more than $19 billion to 2,000-plus global organizations.)
The gunslinger: American lawman Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (1848-1929) – a former horse thief and future prospector who was actually charged with murder and jailed for 16 days after the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (he was later exonerated) – would be 177 years old today.
Undressed Andress: Ursula’s bikini scene was shocking in 1962 — and set a high bar for 007’s future love interests.
Also born on March 19 were Swiss French horologist Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), a master of maritime chronography; Scottish physician, explorer, abolitionist and Christian missionary David Livingstone (1813-1873), who famously went missing in deepest, darkest Africa; Italian American aviation pioneer and airplane designer/builder Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886-1960), whose revolutionary aircraft shattered aviation records; American jurist and politician Earl Warren (1891-1974), who served as California’s 30th governor and the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; and American action hero Walter Bruce Willis (born 1955), the retired actor and musician now facing down aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
We meet again, Mr. Bond: And take a bow, Ursula Andress! The retired Swiss actress and model – who occupies rare waters as a two-time Bond girl, including her iconic appearance as Honey Ryder in 1962’s “Dr. No” (defining the sultry female lead in 007 films for decades to come) and a later cameo as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 parody version of “Casino Royale” – turns 89 today.
Give the former star of American, British and Italian cinema your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always play a starring role.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Barrister breakfast: New York State Attorney General Latitia James addresses her audience March 13 in Uniondale.
James gang: Leadership, justice and bagels were all on the menu March 13, when New York State Attorney General Letitia James visited Long Island to lead an energetic discussion focused on regional jurisprudence.
New York’s 67th attorney general – the first woman to occupy the office – was the special guest at a breakfast networker presented by Uniondale-based Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, a regional corporate-law cornerstone, and Uniondale-based business consultancy Empire Government Strategies, a well-regarded government-relations specialist. Addressing a large and enthusiastic crowd, James discussed numerous Long Island-specific projects and several statewide accomplishments, highlighting her defense of reproductive healthcare, $2.5 billion in opioid-epidemic related awards, the removal of 4,000-plus guns from New York streets and more than $534 million in debt relief collected for businesses harmed by predatory loans.
Ruskin Moscou Faltischek Managing Partner Adam Silvers applauded the AG’s “extensive experience in public service and advocacy” and her ongoing efforts to “help Long Island consumers,” while Empire Government Strategies Chairman Jerry Kremer called James “a trailblazer whose work has profoundly impacted New York State … we are honored that she shared her insights with our guests at this astonishing event.”
In the zones: A comprehensive online tool detailing Long Island-wide zoning districts will be upgraded, thanks to an agreement between the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Center for Urban Research.
The center, part of the City University of New York Graduate Center, will funnel up to $40,000 into the Long Island Zoning Atlas, which breaks down 1,200-plus individual zoning districts across Long Island’s 13 towns, two cities and nearly 100 incorporated villages. Brimming with information crucial to the development of diverse housing options, the first-of-its-kind-in-New-York-State resource has become a key tool for government officials, builders and other stakeholders since going live in 2023.
During the year-long upgrade, the Center for Urban Research plans to incorporate new information about zoning overlay districts, add a customizable “print map” function and update special-district data originally collected for the Rauch Foundation’s Long Island Index, which ceased annual publication in 2018. “Over 35,000 people have visited the [Long Island Zoning Atlas], clearly illustrating the need for this transparent and comprehensive data,” noted Community Development Long Island President and CEO Gwenn O’Shea. “The funds from the Long Island Regional Planning Council will allow CUNY to further expand the tool, enhancing its functionality and usability.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Welcome home, workforce: Albany has deemed 28 statewide affordable-housing projects – including two on Long Island – worthy of nearly $270 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and other state subsidies.
And it keeps getting better: More terrific conversations from the innovation economy’s front lines are on the way – catch up first with everything and everyone you’ve missed on “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast,” where Season 5 is proving to be our best season yet.
VOICES
Providers (and patients) across Long Island, New York and the nation are bracing for the worst as the Trump Administration slashes funding for medical research and healthcare services – especially bad news for lower-income Trump supporters, according to Voices Healthcare Anchor and former Northwell Health Senior Vice President Terry Lynam.
Something to say? Welcome to The Entrepreneur’s Edge, Innovate Long Island’s new promoted-content news feature platform – a direct link from you to our innovation-focused audience. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between with The Entrepreneur’s Edge. Living on the edge.
STUFF WE’RE READING
33: These agents of change are striving to make the world a better place. National Geographic vets the visionaries.
5 trillion: American stock markets shed a staggering amount of value in just three weeks. The Economic Times calculates the crash.
23 million, and counting: Slashing federal funding, firing federal employees and running up taxpayer-funded golf bills. The Guardian makes accountability great again.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Anyware Robotics, a California-based manufacturer of multi-purpose mobile robots, raised $12 million in Seed funding led by GFT Ventures.
+ Darwin AI, a New York City-based artificial intelligence security and governance platform for public sector users, raised $5 million in Seed funding co-led by UpWest and Resolute Ventures.
+ Carpool Logistics, a Georgia-based provider of vehicle-shipping services, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Wavecrest Growth Partners.
+ SipMARGS, a New York City-based, ready-to-drink sparkling margarita brand, raised $3 million in funding led by Palm Tree Crew.
+ BVI Medical, a Massachusetts-based ophthalmic equipment manufacturer, completed a $1 billion strategic capital raise in partnership with TPG.
+ DG Matrix, a North Carolina-based electrification enterprise focused on developing and manufacturing power routers, raised $20 million in funding led by Clean Energy Ventures.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask Nixon Peabody). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (High-Tech Edition)
Follow the program: Apparently, there are several predetermined steps between the drawing board and the merciless subjugation of the human race.
They, robot: From concept to self-sustainability, understanding the robot technology life cycle.
Necessary evil: Constant Google Chrome updates are a pain, but don’t skip them.
The future is now: Behold, MIT’s 10 Technology Breakthroughs for 2025.
Old school: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Nixon Peabody, where technology plays an important part, but nothing beats long experience and old-fashioned know-how. Check them out.
